The latest University of New Hampshire’s Free-Speech ranking from FIRE is unimpressive. Even lousy. But my expectations were always low. It was never a bastion of First Amendment Rights, and it has – in truth – had a few speech scandals that went nationwide with our help.
I’ve also taken FIRE to task in the past for ratings I thought were undeserved, but this? UNH is in the bottom 50 in the 2027 Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Free Speech Ranking report.
Problems?
Nearly one-third are okay with using violence to suppress speech, more than two-thirds approve of shouting down speakers with whom they disagree, and nearly 4 in 10 self-censor, probably because of the other two statistics.
This is an utter embarrassment.
Article 22 of the NH State Constitution states that, “Free speech and Liberty of the press are essential to the security of Freedom in a State: They ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.”
UNH receives a portion of your wages for its budget but has failed to “inviolably” preserve free speech. Is it not obligated, as a recipient of tax dollars, to preserve and protect the natural rights as enumerated in the State Constitution?
The educational or campus environment appears to be overwhelmingly hostile. Students say they can’t speak freely for fear of being shouted down, with a majority thinking this is a reasonable response to ideas they disagree with.
It is not a threat for me to suggest we stop giving UNH tax money. If it’s such a value, it ought to be able to do that like every other business operating absent gifts from the state government.
Private institutions that do the same or worse are not excused, but if we defund UNH and force it to become a private school, it can continue to allow these offensive opinions to flourish without consequence.
The problem, of course, is that it is doing that now while enjoying the support of taxpayers whose opinions, or whose children’s opinions, are silenced by a culture of intimidation the university likely supports.
